“Steg is cute.”

“Goodluck to lucy and hope she wins, she has talent there..”

“Dave

Fear not, Steg only gets Wax Worms as a special treat and in order to get that "perfect shot".

His usual diet is Watercress and Rocket starter with crickets/mealworms dusted in multi-vitamins as a main. He seems to be doing rather well on it !

Thanks all for the support.

Regards

Lucy's Dad”

“I think Steg looks mega! What a fantastic-looking chap, he really looks like he could be a mythical beast. A really great photo, well done Lucy.

And nice of Dave to share his advice, it sounds like he's an avid beardie fan too. I had a garter snake when I was a lad, but it ran away.”

“What a lovely photo of your pet, they are nice creatures.”

“Whilst I can never dream about looking after a beast like this "Steg" I wish all the best to Lucy. I wil indeed be voting for her.”

“Apologies for the double comment, I dont know what happened there”

“The Bearded Dragon (Pogona Vitticeps) is not an unusual pet, it is the most commonly owned and avaliable lizards in this country, due in part to its hardy nature and ease of care.
I have a Bearded Dragon myself and know many others who own them. If you visit any pet shop that sells reptiles you will find Beardies as they are an excellent starter animal for anyone interested in Herpetology. I have branched out now and also own an Albino KingSnake and will soon become the owner of a rather large boa or python. I am shocked to read she feeds her Beardie waxworms, these have no nutritional value and can be harmful to these lizards too, I also hope that fresh fruit and veg is supplied daily (Use watercress for juvenile Beardies and a bagged mixed salad for adults but NO LETTUCE or SPINACH) this is where you Beardie gets its water from, it is very rare to see a Beardie drink from a dish, and I advise her to switch to silent crickets dusted in Nutrobal and dont feed the beardie in the tank instead remove him and feed him in a designated feeder tank and allow him as many crickets as he will eat in a five minute period. The reason for this is cricket are crafty and will hide in all the nooks and crannies in your beardies tank and then will venture out at night and WILL attempt to feed of your beardie resulting in some horrific, life threatening injuries. (I have treated friends Beardies for this very problem) Also use a gutload to feed your crickets and stick a piece of fruit in for good measure as all the crickets have had to eat prior to you buying them from the pet shop would be the cardboard eggbox that is inside the plastic container. What the crickets eat your Beardie eats too. Locusts can be fed to Beardies too but use these as an occasional treat as they will refuse all other food in favour of locusts. Handle daily and you will have many happy years with a lizard that all have individual personalities. I have had Stamford (My Beardie) since he was only 2 inches long, He is now about 16 inches in length and funny to watch, he will even dance to music. Make sure also that you replace your strip light every 12 months and have it so it is no more then 12 inches from the lizard at all times as this provide the artificial sunlight for him and need to be that close so he can absorb the whole UV spectrum also remember to alter the time the UV light is on from 12 hrs on and 12 hrs off in summertime to 10 hrs on and 14 hrs off in wintertime to replicate as close as possible his natural habitat, it isnt clear from the photo what substrate you are using but dont be fooled by petshops into buying the expensive and unnecessary calcisand as when your Beardie urinates this will clump together and form hard lumps which can cause problems, I use playsand for adult Beardies and paper towels for juveniles (NEVER SAND) as they are not to accurate when feeding and will eat the sand which lines their stomach and causes impaction, which will kill your Beardie, This is a particular problem with juveniles as they cannot pass it through their bodies which is why I only use paper towels. Also when selecting crickets and locusts to feed your Beardie never get any that are bigger then the distance between their eyes.

That being said your Beardie looks lovely and I wish you every success with the RSPCA competition”

“The Bearded Dragon (Pogona Vitticeps) is not an unusual pet, it is the most commonly owned and avaliable lizards in this country, due in part to its hardy nature and ease of care.
I have a Bearded Dragon myself and know many others who own them. If you visit any pet shop that sells reptiles you will find Beardies as they are an excellent starter animal for anyone interested in Herpetology. I have branched out now and also own an Albino KingSnake and will soon become the owner of a rather large boa or python. I am shocked to read she feeds her Beardie waxworms, these have no nutritional value and can be harmful to these lizards too, I also hope that fresh fruit and veg is supplied daily (Use watercress for juvenile Beardies and a bagged mixed salad for adults but NO LETTUCE or SPINACH) this is where you Beardie gets its water from, it is very rare to see a Beardie drink from a dish, and I advise her to switch to silent crickets dusted in Nutrobal and dont feed the beardie in the tank instead remove him and feed him in a designated feeder tank and allow him as many crickets as he will eat in a five minute period. The reason for this is cricket are crafty and will hide in all the nooks and crannies in your beardies tank and then will venture out at night and WILL attempt to feed of your beardie resulting in some horrific, life threatening injuries. (I have treated friends Beardies for this very problem) Also use a gutload to feed your crickets and stick a piece of fruit in for good measure as all the crickets have had to eat prior to you buying them from the pet shop would be the cardboard eggbox that is inside the plastic container. What the crickets eat your Beardie eats too. Locusts can be fed to Beardies too but use these as an occasional treat as they will refuse all other food in favour of locusts. Handle daily and you will have many happy years with a lizard that all have individual personalities. I have had Stamford (My Beardie) since he was only 2 inches long, He is now about 16 inches in length and funny to watch, he will even dance to music. Make sure also that you replace your strip light every 12 months and have it so it is no more then 12 inches from the lizard at all times as this provide the artificial sunlight for him and need to be that close so he can absorb the whole UV spectrum also remember to alter the time the UV light is on from 12 hrs on and 12 hrs off in summertime to 10 hrs on and 14 hrs off in wintertime to replicate as close as possible his natural habitat, it isnt clear from the photo what substrate you are using but dont be fooled by petshops into buying the expensive and unnecessary calcisand as when your Beardie urinates this will clump together and form hard lumps which can cause problems, I use playsand for adult Beardies and paper towels for juveniles (NEVER SAND) as they are not to accurate when feeding and will eat the sand which lines their stomach and causes impaction, which will kill your Beardie, This is a particular problem with juveniles as they cannot pass it through their bodies which is why I only use paper towels. Also when selecting crickets and locusts to feed your Beardie never get any that are bigger then the distance between their eyes.

That being said your Beardie looks lovely and I wish you every success with the RSPCA competition”